Dr. Joseph Fins, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and the E. William Davis, Jr., M.D. Professor of Medical Ethics and a professor of medicine, was on Nov. 12 named president-elect of the International Neuroethics Society. The society is a professional association of scientists, scholars, students and practicing legal and health professionals who lead discussions on the complex ethical issues arising from brain research and an expanding understanding of the mind. Experts in the ethical, legal and societal impacts of advances in neuroscience, society members are uniquely equipped to communicate the value and implications that new knowledge, technologies and potential applications may bring to human health and wellbeing.

Dr. Sara Czaja, director of the Center for Aging and Behavioral Research and a professor of gerontology in medicine, has been honored with the 2020 M. Powell Lawton Award, which she accepted during the Gerontological Society of America’s annual meeting in November. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in applied gerontological research that have benefited older people and their care. It is presented to an individual whose contributions in gerontology have led to innovations in gerontological treatment, practice or service, prevention or amelioration of symptoms or barriers.

Dr. Philip Barie, a professor of surgery, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society of Critical Care Medicine. The society, which has bestowed this honor periodically throughout its 51-year history, is a 17,000-member multi-professional society devoted to the care of critically ill and injured patients.